Bill Callahan often
prefers seated theatres to clubs as the better environment for his music as it
moves, album by album, away from the taut, tension laid songs of his previous
alter-ego Smog. So Neukölln’s Heimathafen theatre / ballroom space – tonight, standing
only – is the perfect environment for a Saturday night show by this revered
writer-musician. Every show at HH seems to have its own special atmosphere and
while any show there lacks the grit of a Festsaal event, its becoming one of
Berlin’s favourite venues.
The softly spoken
Alasdair Roberts opens the show, his lilting Scottish singing voice matched by
his speaking voice, in which he introduces the songs and talks to the audience
in German (he was born and raised here), something that is well received.
Roberts is another artist who demands your full attention and he also deserves
a certain setting for the contemplation of the beauty and purity of his
personal vision of traditional folk music. Architecturally, Heimathafen works
for him, and the response is generous, but the loud murmer of conversation
during his set is less that ideal for listening to the sparse detail of his
songs. While exposure to his special craft of song writing and reinterpretation
will hopefully win him a new audience tonight, ultimately, much of his set is
lost in the room.
Much of what swamps
Roberts’ set is the anticipation for Callahan himself. Having not performed
here since 2011, he divides the set mostly between his most recent album – ‘Dream
River’ – and its predecessor ‘Apocalypse’. Callahan is a prolific artist and not
prone to crowd pleasing – Dress Sexy at My Funeral, from Smog’s ‘Dong’s of
Sevotion’ album gets cheer, but ultimately the rather meandering version
performed doesn’t satisfy, the desire to rearrange the song to fit Callahan’s
now more open way of expression not fitting the song’s simple, Velvets /
Jonathan Richman inspired rhythmic form. The intensity is kept for those more
recent songs – where Callahan has moved away from the often twisted vignettes
and stories of Smog to the more introspective and universal emotions expressed
by the material that bears his own name.
His deep, half spoken
vocals hold a deceptive amount of feeling as much as they do his observations
on the human condition, and he almost walks on the spot when he hits his
stride, looming over his seated backing band. Matt Kinsey’s guitar playing
alternates from sounds effects of distortion to inspired lead playing, the
latter style of which features heavily on the more recent of the two albums.
Looking at other reviews from this tour, clearly it's America, from ‘Apocalypse’
that is the most immediate and effective song of the set. A halting, haunting
rhythm piece that takes off in varying directions, the centre piece of which
sees Callahan ruminate on his own journey as a musician – one never having to
serve for his country like Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson – and America’s
allowance of the reinvention of the individual. Riding from The Feeling and One
Fine Morning from the same album are given space to breathe. Similarly, songs
from ‘Dream River’ are presented with less instrumentation than found on the
album, but this creates a focus for the band to explore the musical spaces
between Callahan’s words and add to the sense of longing, regret, and coming to
terms with ones emotions that the words so succinctly relate.
The sound at HH is
never as loud as other venues, but tonight it was at least perfect in its
quality – warm bass tones, the drums percussive and light and the guitars sharp
and distinct. An epic concert, at once uplifting and draining, Callahan and band
creating an emotional space unlike any other contemporary artist exploring American
life and emotions. He name checks (and covers) Martin Gaye, and Leonard Cohen
comes to mind, but there’s not another individual like Callahan in modern music
– and the attention he was given and the response he received reinforces that
status.
